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Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication · F5

CVE-2018-5509

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-03-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.1.3.2 / 12.3.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
On F5 BIG-IP versions 13.0.0 or 12.1.0 - 12.1.3.1, when a specifically configured virtual server receives traffic of an undisclosed nature, TMM will crash and take the configured failover action, potentially causing a denial of service. The configuration which exposes this issue is not common and in general does not work when enabled in previous versions of BIG-IP. Starting in 12.1.0, BIG-IP will crash if the configuration which exposes this issue is enabled and the virtual server receives non TCP traffic. With the fix of this issue, additional configuration validation logic has been added to prevent this configuration from being applied to a virtual server. There is only data plane exposure to this issue with a non-standard configuration. There is no control plane exposure.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

In F5 BIG-IP versions 13.0.0 and 12.1.0-12.1.3.1, a specific non-standard virtual server configuration combined with non-TCP traffic causes the TMM (Traffic Management Microkernel) to crash and trigger the configured failover action, resulting in denial of service. The vulnerability exists only on the data plane with a rare configuration that previous versions did not support. The fix adds configuration validation logic to prevent this problematic configuration from being applied.

MitigationApply the vendor patch for this vulnerability and upgrade to a supported BIG-IP version. Additionally, audit virtual server configurations to identify and correct any instances of the non-standard configuration that triggers this issue.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Big Ip Access Policy ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.3.2>= 13.0.0, < 13.1.0.4
Big Ip Advanced Firewall ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.3.2>= 13.0.0, < 13.1.0.4
Big Ip Application Acceleration ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.3.2>= 13.0.0, < 13.1.0.4
Big Ip Application Security ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, < 12.3.1.2>= 13.0.0, < 13.1.0.4
Big Ip Link ControllerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.3.2>= 13.0.0, < 13.1.0.4
Big Ip Local Traffic ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.3.2>= 13.0.0, < 13.1.0.4
Big Ip Policy Enforcement ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.3.2>= 13.0.0, < 13.1.0.4
Big Ip WebsafeApplication
Affected:= 1.0.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check BIG-IP version
    Run 'tmsh show sys version' or view the BIG-IP version in the web UI under System > Software Management > Software Image List
    Affected if Version is 13.0.0 or 12.1.0 through 12.1.3.1 (any version in the affected ranges)
  2. Identify virtual server configurations
    Run 'tmsh list ltm virtual' to list all virtual server configurations. Review for non-standard or experimental settings, particularly those involving non-TCP protocols
    Affected if A virtual server uses a non-standard configuration that was not supported in versions prior to 12.1.0, combined with non-TCP traffic handling
  3. Check for non-TCP traffic profiles
    Run 'tmsh list ltm profile' to review all configured profiles. Look for profiles handling UDP, SCTP, or other non-TCP protocols attached to virtual servers
    Affected if A virtual server with a non-standard configuration is processing non-TCP traffic (UDP, SCTP, etc.)
  4. Review failover action configuration
    Examine the device failover configuration with 'tmsh show sys failover' to confirm failover actions are configured
    Affected if Failover actions are configured on the BIG-IP device (the crash triggers these actions, causing denial of service)

The environment is affected if running a BIG-IP version in 12.1.0-12.1.3.1 or 13.0.0 AND a virtual server uses a specific non-standard configuration combined with non-TCP traffic handling.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 12.1.3.2 / 12.3.1.2 / 13.1.0.4 or later
Fixed in 12.1.3.212.3.1.213.1.0.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch for this vulnerability and upgrade to a supported BIG-IP version. Additionally, audit virtual server configurations to identify and correct any instances of the non-standard configuration that triggers this issue.

Fix this in Big Ip Access Policy Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-5509 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data